Himachal Governor bats for gender equality

Shimla, November 19

Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla today stressed the need for empowering women. He said this at a seminar on ‘Women Empowerment — Indian Perspective’ organised by the Sunil Upadhyay Education Trust here.

The Governor said, “More women in urban areas are employed than those living in rural areas. According to statistics, about 30 per cent of women work in the software industry in Indian cities, while about 90 per cent of rural women work as daily-wage labourers, mainly in agriculture and related sectors.”

He added, “Our country is progressing rapidly but we can maintain the development momentum only by checking gender inequalities and ensuring that women are educated and paid same salaries as men.”

He said, “The Nari Shakti Vandan Act is an important step towards women empowerment and social equality. The Centre has launched several other schemes to empower women such as MGNREGA, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Janani Suraksha Yojana.”